Drug-Coated Balloons in All-Comer Population—Are We There Yet?

Lazar, Florin-Leontin; Onea, Horea Laurentiu; Homorodean, Calin; Bitea, Ioan Cornel; Lazar, Diana Raluca; Ober, Mihai Claudiu; Tataru, Dan; Olinic, Maria; Spinu, Mihail; Kacso, Teodor Paul; Olinic, Dan-Mircea

doi:10.3390/jcm14103608

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Open AccessReview

Drug-Coated Balloons in All-Comer Population—Are We There Yet?

by

Florin-Leontin Lazar

^1,2,†,

Horea Laurentiu Onea

^1,2,*

,

Calin Homorodean

^1,3,*,

Ioan Cornel Bitea

²,

Diana Raluca Lazar

⁴

,

Mihai Claudiu Ober

³

,

Dan Tataru

^1,3

,

Maria Olinic

^1,3,

Mihail Spinu

^1,3

,

Teodor Paul Kacso

³

and

Dan-Mircea Olinic

^1,3

¹

Medical Clinic Number 1, 4th Department of Internal Medicine, “Iuliu Haţieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania

²

County Emergency Hospital, 550245 Sibiu, Romania

³

Department of Interventional Cardiology, Cluj County Emergency Hospital, 400006 Cluj-Napoca, Romania

⁴

10th Department of Oncology, “Iuliu Hatieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

Memeber of DCB International Academy.

J. Clin. Med. 2025, 14(10), 3608; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14103608

Submission received: 1 April 2025 / Revised: 11 May 2025 / Accepted: 19 May 2025 / Published: 21 May 2025

(This article belongs to the Section Cardiovascular Medicine)

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Abstract

With the advancement of interventional coronary procedures, drug-coated balloons have become an increasingly common alternative to drug-eluting stents in the treatment of various lesions. This paradigm shift stems from several advantages that DCBs entail, including a reduction in stent length burden, the possibility of late vessel positive remodeling, and the preservation of bifurcation anatomy. Conversely, several studies compared the efficacy of DCB treatment to stents or POBA in various scenarios. In this review, we will discuss the areas in which a DCB can be of paramount importance. We will begin by examining the role of DCBs in in-stent restenosis, for which the current practice guidelines do not clearly state the role of this technology, as opposed to the previous ones, in which it was mentioned as a first-line armamentarium. We will then discuss the indications and advantages of using DCBs in de novo lesions, concerning both small and large vessels, with growing emphasis on diffuse lesions. Lastly, we will address the current data on the use of DCBs in special scenarios such as the treatment of chronic total occlusion and left main and bifurcation lesions, without forgetting the primordial role of drug-eluting stents in all these lesions.

Keywords: drug-coated balloon; drug-eluting stent; coronary artery disease; percutaneous coronary interventions

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MDPI and ACS Style

Lazar, F.-L.; Onea, H.L.; Homorodean, C.; Bitea, I.C.; Lazar, D.R.; Ober, M.C.; Tataru, D.; Olinic, M.; Spinu, M.; Kacso, T.P.; et al. Drug-Coated Balloons in All-Comer Population—Are We There Yet? J. Clin. Med. 2025, 14, 3608. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14103608

AMA Style

Lazar F-L, Onea HL, Homorodean C, Bitea IC, Lazar DR, Ober MC, Tataru D, Olinic M, Spinu M, Kacso TP, et al. Drug-Coated Balloons in All-Comer Population—Are We There Yet? Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2025; 14(10):3608. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14103608

Chicago/Turabian Style

Lazar, Florin-Leontin, Horea Laurentiu Onea, Calin Homorodean, Ioan Cornel Bitea, Diana Raluca Lazar, Mihai Claudiu Ober, Dan Tataru, Maria Olinic, Mihail Spinu, Teodor Paul Kacso, and et al. 2025. "Drug-Coated Balloons in All-Comer Population—Are We There Yet?" Journal of Clinical Medicine 14, no. 10: 3608. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14103608

APA Style

Lazar, F.-L., Onea, H. L., Homorodean, C., Bitea, I. C., Lazar, D. R., Ober, M. C., Tataru, D., Olinic, M., Spinu, M., Kacso, T. P., & Olinic, D.-M. (2025). Drug-Coated Balloons in All-Comer Population—Are We There Yet? Journal of Clinical Medicine, 14(10), 3608. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14103608

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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